The Renewal

by Steven Smith

Jim saw Kelly trying not to laugh.

  "Do you and Professor Fulbright do other work?"

  Ahlgren shook her head impatiently. "Our educational programs demand our full energy and attention."

  "How do you eat?"

  "Our students contribute toward our other necessities. That's why we need community funding."

  Jim stared at the woman. This was the kind of thing Kelly and he used to laugh about when they heard it in the news and be angry about their taxes being used to support. That it had survived past the change, when everyone was still working to survive and rebuild, astounded him.

  "And how much community funding do you think would be necessary, professor?"

  Ahlgren almost smiled. It had seemed to her that Wyatt was initially opposed to her, but she now realized it had just been a part of a review process – a process with which she was intimately familiar.

  "Based on past comparison of professorial salaries to median labor pay levels and adjusted for the current standard of twenty credits a day for manual labor, we feel that one hundred credits each would be appropriate."

  "Per day?"

  Ahlgren nodded. "Yes. Each."

  Jim raised his eyebrows. "That seems like a lot, professor."

  Ahlgren smiled. "Perhaps it does at first, Mr. Wyatt, but the value of having two tenured professors driving and supporting artistic endeavors in the community cannot be overstated. Besides, the community is growing rapidly. I'm sure it can afford it."

  Jim looked around the table at the others. Each was trying to keep a straight face, some succeeding more than others, but Ahlgren was obviously too focused on herself to notice. He looked back at Ahlgren.

  "This is a very interesting request, professor. I'm sure that none of us would have thought of it." He looked around the table. "In fact, I think I can safely say that we would have been astounded if anyone here had thought of this."

  He looked back at Ahlgren. "Obviously, while most others have been working hard just to rebuild normal lives, it took the unique perspective of those with the education and social background of you and Professor Fulbright to see the importance of such a program."

  Ahlgren's smile got bigger.

  Jim spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Unfortunately, the community doesn't have any resources to commit to such a program."

  Ahlgren’s smile faded, a look of irritation replacing it. "The community is growing rapidly, Mr. Wyatt. Homes are being built, businesses are opening and even a massive community hall is nearing completion. You live up here on a hill with stockpiles of who knows what and your private military seems to always be projecting your influence beyond what many feel is your rightful place. I don't think a small amount to support the arts is an unreasonable request."

  Jim noted her sudden change of attitude and nodded. "I'm sure you don't. Let me ask you, did you ever have a real job?"

  Ahlgren stiffened. "I'll have you know that I worked my way through college as a barista and teaching assistant. And, might I tell you Mr. Wyatt, professorship is a real job!"

  Jim smiled. "Yes, I'm sure you think so. You see, Eilene, ... "

  Ahlgren stiffened even more, her nostrils flaring slightly. "Elaine."

  "I'm sorry, what?" asked Jim.

  "My name is Elaine, not Eilene."

  Jim nodded his head in apparent apology. "Oh yes. Well, you see Elaine, the community doesn't have any assets. All assets are owned by individuals like those of us around this table and those in town who have worked to earn them."

  He looked at Ahlgren, who was glaring back at him. "But I do have a suggestion, Elaine. Before the arts started relying on taxpayers to fund endeavors that no one else wanted to or saw the value in, real artists relied on patrons to support their work."

  He leaned back in his chair. "As I started to say earlier, I, myself, appreciate art. In fact, one of my favorite paintings is the one of the dogs playing poker."

  Ahlgren inhaled sharply, Kelly stifled a laugh with her fingers pressed hard against her mouth and Christian seemed to choke.

  "So, if you and Spencer think you could teach the kids to paint like that, I might be willing to pay you a bit for it." He looked around the table, smiling. "I think the kids would enjoy it."

  Ahlgren rose slowly from her chair. "I can see that you find this amusing, Mr. Wyatt, but I assure you that I do not, nor do others in the community. You will be hearing from us."

  She turned and walked toward the door.

  "Looking forward to it, Eilene. I also like music, so if any of you could teach the kids that Christmas hippopotamus song, that would be great."

  They heard the entry door slam.

  Jim looked around the table at the smiles and shaking heads, then settled on Kelly who was hunched forward in her chair, her body shaking and her hands covering her face.

  "Thanks, babe," he smiled. "I know you did that on purpose."

  Kelly straightened up, dropping her hands to reveal the tears that had sprung from her suppressed laughter and looked at the others. "Now you see what he was like before."

  "I'll vouch for that," laughed Christian.

  “Works for me,” said Tom.

  "I never thought I'd see anything like that again," said Ann, shaking her head.

  "How do people get like that?" asked Naomi, "and how has she survived?"

  Jim got up and walked to the sideboard to refill his coffee mug. "Good questions. I'll never understand the first, but as to the second it's because people have always supported them. People like that can't make it on their own."

  "So, what are we going to do about it?" asked Christian.

  "Do we really have to do anything about it?" asked Ann.

  "Yeah, I'm afraid we do," answered Jim, holding up the coffee carafe. "Anybody need a top-off?"

  Christian and Tom raised their cups and he walked to the table.

  "Every big problem starts as a seemingly small one and only becomes a big one because it's not handled when it's small and more easily dealt with."

  He filled the two cups and returned the pot to the sideboard. "Cancer, communism, getting fat or the things that make families, communities or nations fall apart all start small and they grow because people are either too scared, too stupid or too lazy to deal with them when they start."

  He returned to his chair and sat down, looking at Kelly. "What do we know about them?"

  "They came in fairly recently from Hillmont, which they apparently reached from somewhere outside of Lawrence," Kelly answered. "I don't know anything about them before that, but they met a family from Jamestown when they went there for Mrs. Hernandez' grand opening and became friends. I guess pretty soon after that they moved in with the family."

  "Who's the family?" asked Christian.

  Kelly checked her notebook. "The Carnes. Seth, Amanda and two kids, Noah and Lydia."

  "I know the Carnes," said Christian. "Good people. Hard workers. Extra nice."

  Jim nodded. "That figures. Both of you find out everything you can about these people and what they're doing. We'll talk about it later."

  Christian and Kelly nodded.

  Jim turned to Kelly. "Okay, if you don't have any more surprises, start us off. But let's just hit the highlights today since we're a bit short of time."

  "Okay," said Kelly, looking down at her notebook. People and things. Let's start with people.

  "Almost all families have been moved into homes in town and Ann says the last ones will be able to move in over the next couple of weeks. Things continue to be good. Everyone is working hard, pulling together and getting along."

  "Almost everybody," interjected Jim.

  Kelly chuckled. "Yes, almost everybody. Anyway, your dealings with Carl went a long way in illustrating expectations, and people seem to appreciate it.

  "Mrs. Hernandez' restaurant and inn is doing very well, as is Cesar's livery stable, and we have several new businesses that have been approved to open this month; a barber shop, a tailor, a carpenter, a m
edical aid station and a laundry. Then, of course, our general store will be opening soon. Hillmont and School Center are both doing well with no problems reported.”

  She glanced at her notebook. "Now, things. The early spring allowed an early planting and the first harvest is coming in great with a second planting going in now. Peaches, pears, plums and cherries are all bringing in good amounts, probably because the rains came at the right time. We're already canning most of it and you'll all be eating peach pies and cobblers for a while. The berries are doing well, and the apples are looking good, but final yield will depend on rain from here on.

  “On the individual side, there's a mix. Some have put in large home gardens and are doing very well, some have put in smaller gardens and some have done very little, if anything."

  "Is the difference the length of time they've been in their homes?" asked Jim.

  Kelly shook her head. "It doesn't seem to be. A couple of families who only moved in last week have already turned fairly large areas and gotten seeds in. Some who have been there a while have done very little."

  Jim nodded. "Just like the old days. Okay, go ahead."

  "The scouts have brought in an amazing collection of books which will be ready to go in the library when the hall is finished, and the teachers will be ready to start school in September."

  "Is the library just for the school or for everybody?" asked Bill.

  "It’s for everybody," Kelly answered. "There will be a section especially for the school, but the majority will be for the whole community."

  She looked back at her notes. "Salvage operations are slowing down because we're having to go farther out to find trucks and are starting to bump up against other communities, so that may be coming to an end." She shrugged. "Not that we really need anything else."

  She looked back up. "I have a bunch of little things to fill in cracks but those are the biggies for me."

  "Anybody have any questions or comments?" asked Jim.

  Bill raised a finger. "What do we do when we bump up against other groups?"

  "We back off and let the other group have the salvage or the area," answered Mike, "and we assist them if they need it."

  "These contacts have been among our best intel gathering efforts," said Tom. "As always, when you help people first, they tend to be friendly and helpful in return. Not always, but usually. We've learned a lot about areas we haven't been to ourselves and it's allowed us to map out a bit of the human terrain."

  "Human terrain?" said Bill.

  Tom nodded. "A military term. It's a concept that has probably been used since the first man met the second man, but intelligence agencies and the military are, or were, great at developing them to the minutiae and giving them fancy names and cool acronyms. It basically means understanding groups of people according to a number of factors like culture, religion and societal norms. It helps us understand the social make-up of an area so that we can be most effective in dealing with them."

  Bill nodded his head in understanding.

  "Anybody have anything else for Kelly?" asked Jim.

  No one spoke, so he turned to Ann. "How about engineering?"

  Ann leaned forward, opening a folder in front of her and picking up a pencil.

  "As Kelly said, the homes in Jamestown are almost done, and I have to say that both the speed with which they were completed, and the quality of workmanship is amazing. Electricity and water are both working and should be hooked up to all houses within a few weeks. We pulled crews off the hall to finish the homes, so all of the crews will soon be back working on the hall and it should be done in August."

  She made a tic with her pencil in the notebook and continued. "On the energy side, we have opened one of the oil wells and are getting a good flow. We've set up a rudimentary refining system and have just started producing small amounts of both gasoline and diesel. It's not going to be Quick Trip quality, but we've run a couple of tanks through an old pickup we're using as a test vehicle and it seems to be doing okay. Natural gas will be next."

  She made another pencil tic in her notebook.

  "Greenhouses have been completed in order to extend the growing season of some of our less resilient crops and we are laying irrigation into a large field close to the creek for more row crops. This will protect against drought if our main fields don't get enough rain during the growing season."

  Another tic.

  "Now for some bad news." She looked around the table. "We had hoped that we might be able to strip the electronics out of newer vehicles and get them running again, but Sean says no way."

  "Who's Sean?" asked Bill.

  "The mechanic who works on all of our vehicles. They say if it's got wheels, he can fix it, but he says that electronics are just too fully integrated into modern cars and he doesn't see any way to remove them and still have a working vehicle. He suggests that we find as many vehicles made before about nineteen seventy-eight as we can, as well as sources for extra engines and parts cars."

  "The cash-for-clunkers program got rid of a lot of the older stuff," said Christian.

  Ann nodded. "Sean says to be on the lookout for restored classic vehicles guys may have kept in their garages and abandoned old cars and trucks around smaller towns and farms. He's starting to set up a repair shop in town, and although it won't have the power tools his old shop did, he says there's not much he won't be able to do on the older stuff if he holds his mouth right."

  "Is there anything in particular the scouts should be keeping their eyes out for right now?" asked Jim.

  Ann thought for a minute. "Wire. Electrical wire and copper wire. Also, oxy-acetylene welding equipment and supplies."

  She looked at her notebook and made another tic, then looked back up. "I've got nothing else that can't wait."

  Jim nodded and looked at Christian. "Councilor Bell?"

  Christian chuckled. "As far as security against external threat is concerned, I think we're in good shape. The home guard now stands at forty-six, which includes guards and signalmen. The fact that we've pushed our security zone out farther with scouts on an outer ring makes me feel better about things and the fact that the couriers haven't had any trouble is a good sign.

  "What I'm mainly concerned about now is the town. When everything gets done, people are going to have the time and opportunity to become normal people again instead of survivors, and like someone said before, with people come problems."

  Jim nodded. “That’s the truth.”

  Christian looked around the table. "We don't really know what kind of people most of our residents are because they've lived the last year being driven by their survival instincts. When they get past the surviving and get settled back into living, we'll see who they really are. Hopefully, most of them are good folks, but we just saw a reminder of some old problems with the art teacher. I'm sure there will be more."

  "Have you picked any deputies yet?" asked Jim.

  Christian nodded. "There are a couple of former police officers I've chosen as primaries and six of the home guard so far that we're training as reserves. I've made it clear that their model is old west, not modern paramilitary."

  "Good," said Jim. "We want people to be happy to see them coming, not nervous about having them around."

  "That's what I told them. They should be an integral part of the community, not separate from it, and I've explained that their conduct, both professional and personal, should be solid. They should be people who men feel good around, women feel safe around and kids look up to."

  Jim nodded in approval. "Very good. Anything else?"

  Christian shook his head. "That's about it."

  Jim turned to Naomi. "How are things going with the shuttles?"

  "Very well." She had a folder in the table in front of her which she left unopened. "For the local run; Stonemont, Jamestown, Church Crossing and School Center, we have a clockwise run in the morning and a counter-clockwise run in the afternoon. They started out with mainly letters, but it's quickl
y changed to be more packages and people."

  Jim nodded. "That makes sense. Why send a letter when you can go visit? Do you have any idea how many people are using it?"

  Naomi shook her head. "Not exactly. We estimate about fifty a day, but we haven't been keeping exact numbers since we're not charging for it - which brings up something I wanted to suggest. I think we should charge for use of the shuttle. It wouldn't have to be a lot, but it's an expense for Stonemont and I don't think people would mind."

  Jim leaned back in his chair, studying her. "I have a feeling you've been giving this some thought. What do you suggest?"

  Naomi grinned. "I have, a little bit. I was thinking that we could keep taking letters and small packages for free but could charge one credit for larger packages or a one-day ride pass for people."

  Jim nodded, thinking. "It makes sense. But I hate starting something for free and then springing a charge on people."

  Naomi shook her head. "People do it all the time - or did. When they started a shuttle from Haskell to downtown Lawrence, they did it free for a month to develop interest then started charging. Nobody minded because they liked the service. And remember when they were putting in all of those free charging stations around to try to get people to buy electric cars? Everybody knew they would eventually be charging for it. It's just capitalism in its truest form - a service for a price with each willingly participating."

  Jim kept thinking, and Naomi continued.

  "I hope I haven't over-stepped, but I've already asked some people how they would feel about it. I only had one negative response and that was from a woman the driver says is kind of sour anyway."

  Jim chuckled and gave a nod. "Okay, it makes sense. Have you thought about how to keep track of the credits?"

  Naomi nodded. "A simple sign-on sheet. Each rider signs it when they first get on. Whenever they get on later in the day, the driver can check them against the list, which they then turn in to Kelly after the last run of the day. Kelly then deducts the credit from the person's account."

  "What about children?" asked Ann.

  Naomi considered the question. "I hadn't thought about that. How about free for under twelve and a half-credit for twelve to seventeen?"